Hauck eyes progress for Rebels

It was a different kind of pressure at Montana, a lower-level version of Alabama, where every move on and off the football field was scrutinized.

There was a pressure to be perfect, or close to it, in a college town that didn't tolerate anything short of winning big.

Bobby Hauck went 80-17 and played for the Football Championship Subdivision national championship three times - and was criticized by some in Missoula for falling short those three times.

The pressure on Hauck at UNLV, for now at least, is to take what has been an unwatchable Rebels team, in a city with a thousand other entertainment options and a nationally recognized basketball program, and give fans a credible reason to drive out to Sam Boyd Stadium.

Maybe that process begins today when the Rebels open their season at 8 p.m. by hosting Minnesota.

Hauck's first two UNLV teams won two games each year, and the program has ended six of the past eight seasons with that same number of victories.

But gauging the amount of immediate pressure that rests on the shoulders of the 48-year-old coach isn't easy, should the season again end with two wins or something close to that figure.

Hauck has two years remaining on his contract beyond this season, and cash-poor UNLV isn't in the position to buy out coaches with multiple years left.

On the other hand, the momentum toward a new stadium adds a different element to the mix. If legislators are to approve the on-campus facility next year, they probably want to see progress in the program.

Which leads to the bottom line: What does Hauck need to do?

"I certainly think the community has great expectations and wants to see measurable signs of improvement, and I would say (athletic director) Jim Livengood and Bobby Hauck do, too," UNLV president Neal Smatresk said. "Three years is enough time to assemble your team to get bigger and stronger. We're looking at it as an important year. It's an important year for the coach."

But putting a win total on whether Hauck stays or goes is another matter.

Administrators don't want to tie themselves to absolutes, because so many unknown circumstances could occur - a rash of injuries, for example.

"I would never put a number (of victories) on there, and I would never put a blanket statement of, 'Well, we need to do this,' " Livengood said. "You just don't know what's going to happen. I try to evaluate all of our programs ... based on a process that's not just one season. As my dad once told me, most things don't get bad overnight, and consequently they don't get fixed overnight."

Make no mistake, Livengood remains solidly behind Hauck.

Hauck was his first hire, made about a week after Livengood himself was hired in December 2009.

"I have great confidence in Bobby," Livengood said. "I've never lost that. I think the right building blocks are in place."

And so, apparently, are the building blocks for the stadium, which Smatresk and Livengood champion as transforming not only the football program, but the entire university. The stadium probably would be a multipurpose facility that seats 50,000 to 60,000 people.

Smatresk said the push for the stadium increases the importance of having a successful football program.

"We're the biggest city in the country without such a venue," Smatresk said. "A mega events center would be huge, and we want our football team to have its on-campus stadium, which would be a real plus for recruiting."

As for Hauck, he never shows outward signs of stress, other than when one of his players makes an unexplained mistake in practice or doesn't hustle.

He's a football coach, and all football coaches know it's a temporary job anyway. If Bobby Bowden could be forced out at Florida State, no one is safe.

So a coach will hang on to his job as long as possible, or until a more high-profile one comes along.

There is something different about this season, however.

Hauck wasn't confident in his previous two UNLV teams, even if he didn't admit it publicly.

But he believes in this team, that it will be the one to show the program is headed in the right direction, even if the definition of success for this season varies depending on who's asked.

"What's the baseline, and how do you get to being in it every week, no matter who you play?" Hauck asked rhetorically. "I think we're getting closer. We'll see this fall. I'm fired up about where we're going."

He said the alumni and fans have been supportive, and his players have surprisingly remained upbeat.

"I think those two groups of people deserve to have some success," Hauck said. "For me, I want to win for those two groups of people. I want those people to taste success, because it can be really fun around here if we can get this going, but it's pulling teeth a little bit."

Maybe this team will be the one that begins the turnaround, by winning four or five games or perhaps even more, making questions about Hauck's future disappear like a prop at a magic show.

But what if it's another two-win team, another season quickly ignored once the basketballs begin bouncing in October at Mendenhall Center?

Livengood won't talk about hypothetical situations.

He and Smatresk, however, have a stadium they want built. And legislators probably want to see progress.

Few expect Hauck to take the Rebels to a bowl this season, but everyone from the coach to the administrators to the fans and boosters want to see UNLV start winning.

"It's all just words, let's go do it," Hauck said. "It's the same thing I tell our guys, 'I don't want to hear any talk about this. Let's go do it.' "

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.